A Dragon's Tail
Tail 1: Rachael's Tail – Contamination
Tail 1-8: The Choices
"Pant… Pant…" Jasper and Zenpai panted after the battle ended. They still couldn't believe what just happened…
"Is it… over?" Jasper mumbled.
"I…don't know…" Zenpai answered softly.
"Jasper! Zenpai!" Rachael approached them and gave them the healing potions to heal their wounds.
"Thanks…" Jasper and Zenpai spoke as they drank the potions.
"Garrr…."
Joshua groaned as he started to regain his consciousness, but he had no more power to fight!
"You…" Joshua spoke as he used his Emerald Katana to support his wounded body. "You have defeated me… Now kill me and end this madness once and for all…"
Jasper, Zenpai and Rachael looked at each others, and then Jasper spoke up. "Joshua… You were once the Hero of Legend who saved Symmetria… You were the one who taught me to wield the blade… And… I still don't understand… What made you fall into this madness?"
"…I already told everything to you, Jasper." Joshua answered. "To master the art of sword, I need to use it in both good ways and bad ways… And… I now understand everything I need to learn… Except for one thing…"
"…And what is that?" Zenpai asked.
"Death." Joshua answered. "I have seen many Pokemon die in front of my eyes, be my comrades or my enemies. But I have never tasted it myself… So... Kill me… And end all the madness I started…"
"…What do you think?" Zenpai asked Jasper and Rachael. "Should we kill him or not?"
"…I will let you decide, Rachael…" Jasper answered.
"…" Rachael looked at Joshua, the Hero of Forest who saved Symmetria from the Fallen Crisis, the Tsujigiri who killed countless Pokemon of Leafburg and the one who killed their mother…
"…No." Rachael answered, much to the surprise of Jasper, Zenpai and even Joshua himself.
"W…Why?!" Joshua asked.
"And what will we get from killing you?" Rachael asked. "Killing you won't bring mother back, and you are Jasper's father! Don't you care about your son at all?!"
"Rachael…" Zenpai mumbled. "I… don't really agree with you about not killing him… But… I must admit that you are right about this."
"…I don't really know about this…" Jasper mumbled and looked at his father. "But if you say so… I will… not kill you, Joshua."
"…" Joshua looked at the trio, and then…
"…You…idiots…" Joshua spoke up. "I am the incarnation of madness, and yet you chose to let me continue plaguing the world… Idiots!"
"…" Rachael, Jasper and Zenpai said nothing and looked at Joshua.
"You may allow me to live, but what about other Pokemon of Symmetria? What about goddess Yggdrasil, who protected Symmetria? WHAT ABOUT THE GOD, WHO GRANTED ME THE POWER TO BECOME THE HERO OF LEGEND TO PROTECT THE WORLD FROM EVIL?!"
"…If that's true, even we can't let you die…" Rachael spoke up. "You had committed the sin under the name of the Hero of Legend. So, you must… atone it first before we can let you die."
"…You really are idiots…" Jasper spoke and slowly picked his Emerald Katana. "Well… If I couldn't convince you all to kill me, I WILL BE THE ONE WHO DOES THIS INSTEAD! ARRGGGG!"
"!" Rachael, Zenpai and Jasper was shocked as they saw Joshua stabbed his Emerald Katana at his abdomen!
"EAH!" Rachael covered her eyes with her paws.
"W…What are you doing?!" Zenpai spoke up with a shaking voice.
"I… I will j…just take…. my life instead…" Joshua spoke with a shaking voice as he pierced his blade into his body further. "A…And… D…Did you know what this means, Jasper?!"
"W…What?!" Jasper spoke up.
"I…If I die… T…The power of legend w…within my veins…. will be transferred…to… the one…who shares the same…blood with me…" Joshua spoke.
"No…" Jasper mumbled.
"R…Right…" Joshua continued speaking. "J…Jasper…m…my son… Y…You will be… the next… Hero of Forest… A…And… Ugh!" Joshua groaned in pain again as he pierced the Emerald Katana further into his body.
"No… Not that…" Jasper mumbled.
"J…Jasper… Y…You will… b…be…t…the next owner… of… this cursed blade… the Emerald Katana… that… had devoured… blood…of countless… living creatures…." Joshua spoke.
"N…No… Not that… Stop it!" Jasper said.
"A…And now… Urhgg!" Jasper roared again. "E…Emerald Katana… D…Drink my bl…ood and…pass… your legacy to…y…your…next….o…owner… ARRRRGGGGRRGR!"
Joshua used the last of his strength to pierce the blade through his back. And then he collapsed on the ground… His breath stopped and his heart stopped beating…
"W…Why…?" Rachael spoke up with a shaking voice. "W…Why does this have to happen?"
After Joshua stopped breathing, his body glowed with a dark green aura, and the very same aura surrounded Jasper!
"No… No… Not like this!" Jasper said. And then he became more afraid when he saw the Emerald Katana being drawn out of Joshua's lifeless body with a mysterious force. The blade then flew up to him! Jasper unconsciously raised his paw to catch the blade!
"No…" Jasper said and looked at the Emerald Katana in his paw. The Emerald Katana emitted a mysterious power that made him feel like he had a power to do anything in this world. And… he also noticed something… It was a strange mark that appeared on the back of his right paw…
"W…What is this?" Jasper mumbled.
"I also have one like this too…" Zenpai spoke up after the dark green aura faded away from Jasper. He showed the side of his right forearm. There was a strange mark there too. "I heard that the Hero of Legend will carry the Mark of Legend on their body to show that they are the one who are the Hero of Legend… So… I think these are the Mark of Legend…"
"…" Jasper said nothing and looked at his Mark of Legend.
"…And…" Zenpai said. "Now you are the Hero of Legend who holds the power of Grass type… And you have the Emerald Katana, the blade that stole our mother's life…"
"…" Jasper paused for a bit before he spoke up. "Zenpai, let's go back… Rachael, you too… Wait… Rachael?!" Jasper looked around and saw that Rachael was not around here.
"…Rachael…" Zenpai spoke up. "She went into that abandoned temple when she saw you get the Emerald Katana… I don't know why did she go there…"
"Let's take her home…" Jasper said.
Jasper and Zenpai approached the abandoned temple, but just as they got near the door of the temple…
"…Sniff… Sniff…"
Zenpai and Jasper stopped moving. It's the sound of someone's crying, and that 'someone' must be none other than Rachael.
"…Let's wait until she gets better…" Jasper said.
"Right…" Zenpai agreed. "But still… There's something I don't understand… How could our mother have come here?"
"…I think it was the feeling of motherhood…" Jasper answered with the words that Rachael used when he was annoyed by Julia's overacting habit. "We didn't go back to Paradise Farm at the dusk, so our mother was worried about us and set out to find us… And… Her feeling led her here…"
"…" Zenpai looked at Jasper. "Alright… Then… While waiting for Rachael… Let's bury our fathers in this courtyard…"
Jasper said nothing and nodded in response. Then the duo walked up to the lifeless bodies of their fathers…
-Inside the abandoned temple
"Sniff… Sniff…"
Rachael cried. The things that happened today were too much for her… Especially the death of her mother… So, she ran into this abandoned temple because she didn't want to cry in front of Jasper and Zenpai, her elder brothers…
No…
Despite them being her elder brothers, they weren't. They were the real sons of Lydia the Leavanny while she wasn't… She was just her adopted daughter…
'I… I am always alone…' Rachael thought to herself. 'I… I am always alone… I have neither father nor mother… The only one I have in my life… is Onii-chan… But now… I don't know where he is…'
'…What about Jasper and Zenpai? I think they always care for you…'
'No…' Rachael continued thinking. 'F…For them….I… I am just a burden to them… They… They are the Hero of Legend… And… I am not… I am so weak… I couldn't fight… And I couldn't even defend myself. I…If I could become stronger…. T…Then I will at least not be a burden to them…'
'…Are you sure that you want to become stronger?'
'Yes… Wait…' Rachael realized that she was talking to someone through her mind the whole time. "W…Who are you?" Rachael asked and looked around the abandoned temple, but she could see no one around here.
"…Allow me…"
Rachael saw a light glowing from an altar in the middle of the temple. The light… gave her a warm feeling… Rachael then slowly approached the altar…
"You…" Rachael spoke up. "…Are you here?"
"Yes…" A soft, warm and feminine voice echoed from the glowing light on the altar. "I am right here, Rachael…"
"W…Who are you?" Rachael asked.
"…I am… like you, Rachael…" The glowing light answered. "I am… a Mega Latias…"
"Mega Latias?!" Rachael repeated the words of the glowing light.
"Right…" The glowing light that was actually a Mega Latias continued speaking. "I was, like you, a Latias, who have lived in this world for a very long time… And my power became stronger, resulting in me being turned into a Mega Latias for eternity, even after my death…"
"You…" Rachael spoke up. "You… are already dead?! Then how could you still be here and speak with me?"
"It is not important. The important thing is… Did you say that you want to become stronger?" Mega Latias asked.
"Yes…" Rachael answered.
"If that so… Then… I have a proposal for you… I offer you… to form a pact with me…" Mega Latias spoke.
"Form a pact?" Rachael asked.
"Yes…" Mega Latias continued speaking. "After you form a pact with me, I will lend you my power and you will become stronger… But in return… You will pay the price by being cursed to lose something…"
'Being cursed… to lose something?'Rachael thought to herself. Sure, it was quite scary to lose something… But… Right now, Rachael had nothing left in her life to lose… In return, she will become stronger and will not become a burden to her friends… So…
"…What do you think?" Mega Latias asked. "Will you form a pact with me?"
"…I will." Rachael answered. "I have nothing more to lose. And if it means that I will no longer be a burden to my friends… I will do it."
"…Are you sure?" Mega Latias asked.
"Yes." Rachael answered with a determined voice.
"Then… Touch this glowing light… And I will form a pact with you and lend you my power…" Mega Latias said.
Rachael approached the glowing light and reached her paw to touch it. She then could feel an enormous amount of power flowing into her body! She also felt that new powers had been awakened in her body too.
Then, the glowing light disappeared, and Rachael now felt much more powerful than before.
'…Now my power is yours… Use it as you see fit…' Mega Latias' voice echoed through Rachael's mind.
'M…Mega Latias…' Rachael spoke through her mind. 'W…Where are you?'
'I am right here… In your Mist Pendant…' Mega Latias answered. Rachael then took a look at the pendant that she always wore around her neck.
'Y…You are here?' Rachael asked through her mind.
'Yes… I will always stay here with you, Rachael…' Mega Latias spoke from the pendant. 'Now your Mist Pendant have become a Dragon Relic, proof that you have made a pact with me… And I will stay here to lend you my power…"
'Okay.' Rachael said.
'Now…' Mega Latias started explaining. 'After forming a pact with me, the new powers have been awakened within your body. Now you can use two new moves, Dragon Breath and Energy Ball. Not only that… During the battle, you can also summon me and I will aid you in the battle with my power, which is a move called Mist Ball. So… Do not hesitate to ask me for your help…'
'…Thanks… Mega Latias…' Rachael expressed her gratitude.
'And now…' Mega Latias said. 'Let's go… Your friends are now waiting for you…'
"Rachael?" Zenpai called the Latias as she left the abandoned temple.
"Are you alright, Rachael?" Jasper asked.
"Jasper… Zenpai…" Rachael looked at the duo. "… I am fine now… Please do not worry about me…"
"…We already buried our fathers in this courtyard…" Jasper continued speaking. "So… Let's go back to our home…"
"Right." Zenpai said. "Let's go to the Paradise Farm… So we can give our mother a nice resting place…"
-Several Hours Later…
After going back to the Paradise Farm and giving their mother a proper burial, the trio got into the house to get some rest. Jasper and Zenpai stayed in the living room while Rachael went upstairs back to her room. Even thought the time now was already passed the midnight, Rachael still couldn't sleep. She instead walked up to the window and stared at a moon in the sky.
'…Rachael, shouldn't you get some rest?' The Mist Pendant glowed a mysterious light as Mega Latias spoke to Rachael.
"…I am just… thinking…" Rachael answered slowly. "After all of this, what should I do next? Now mother is gone... And I don't know what to do…"
'…Rachael…' Mega Latias spoke. 'Did you say that you have someone called Onii-chan… Is he your true elder brother?'
"Yes…" Rachael answered. "We were very close together when we were…"
'…Were a human, right?' Mega Latias finished Rachael's word.
"H… How did you know that?" Rachael asked.
'I had been watching you since the day you appeared at the abandoned temple… And… I had seen a human who had been turned into a Pokemon before…' Mega Latias answered.
"I see…" Rachael understood.
'Anyway… You said that your elder brother is now missing, and you miss him so much, right? Then… Why don't you try to find him?' Mega Latias said.
"W…What?!" Rachael said. "B…But…."
'Don't worry… Don't forget that I am with you…" Mega Latias said. "I will always be with you and I will help you in trying to find your elder brother… With my power, I am sure you could do it…'
"B…But I am still not sure about this… I don't know where he is… And I have never been to other places outside the Principality of Leafburg before…" Rachael said.
'…Then, take your time and think about this… Do not worry… I am with you all the way…' Mega Latias said.
"…Thank you, Mega Latias…" Rachael said.
The Mist Pendant stopped glowing. Rachael then headed to her bed in order to take a rest… Before she found that there was something sleeping on her bed.
"Yawn…?" The thing that slept on Rachael's bed woke up after hearing Rachael's sound. It then looked around until it saw Rachael.
"W…Who are you?" Rachael asked.
"Yay! Yay! Yippy Ho!" The thing that was sleeping on Rachael's bed jumped in joy and started dancing! "Yay! Yay! You come! Yay! Yay!"
Rachael looked at the thing on her bed. The moonlight shone from the moon revealed it as a cat like Pokemon called Espurr… But it was not a Pokemon… It was a doll!
"Y…You are a living doll?!" Rachael said.
"Yippy Ho! Right! I am Cathy! Yippy Ho!" The Espurr Doll said.
"Cathy?!" Rachael looked at the Espurr Doll who had just introduced itself as 'Cathy'. "Who are you?"
"Cathy is Cathy! Yay!" Cathy said.
Rachael looked at the Cathy again. Sure, seeing a thing that wasn't supported to speak and dance was a bit scary… But… Because that thing was a kitty cat doll, Rachael felt that Cathy was…Cute.
"Come here, Cathy!" Rachael said.
"Yay! Yay!" Cathy jumped onto Rachael's shoulder.
"Cathy, you are so cute!" Rachael said as she petted the Espurr Doll. "Now, let's sleep together!"
"Yay! Yay!" Cathy said as both of them got into the bed. And then they both quickly fell asleep after a long and exhausted day…
-The Next Morning…
Rachael woke up at 9.00. Despite she woke up rather late today, it was still earlier than Jasper and Zenpai who still slept and snored on the sofa in the living room as Rachael went downstairs. Rachael then went into the kitchen to prepare breakfast for them. (With Cathy as her assistance) As she finished, Jasper and Zenpai already woke up.
"Good morning, Ra—" Zenpai and Jasper walked into the kitchen and was about to greet the Latias when they saw that there's something different with her.
"Good morning! Jasper! Zenpai!" Rachael greeted. She wasn't in her usual cloth. Instead, she wore a rose-colored Yukata with ruby-colored Obi.
"Rachael, I have never known you have a Yukata too…" Zenpai asked.
"Oh… You mean this?" Rachael looked at her cloth. "Well, I bought it at the boutique of the Leafburg City after I went to the Post Office in the first day…"
"Oh…I remember that…" Jasper mumbled. "That day when you spent your time at the boutiques instead of meeting me at the Forest Park…"
Rachael, Jasper and Zenpai then had breakfast together. During the breakfast, Rachael introduced Cathy to her friends. Sure, Zenpai and Jasper were surprised to see a living Espurr Doll, but Cathy's cuteness won their hearts too.
After breakfast, the trio (And Cathy) went into the living room. Then, the room fell into silence. All of them had something in their mind, but none did speak it out. Until Zenpai started a conversation about the thing they all were thinking.
"…So…" Zenpai broke the silence. "… What will you do next?"
"…" Rachael said nothing. She just hugged Cathy in her arms.
"…I will leave the Principality of Leafburg." Jasper answered, much to the surprise of Rachael and Zenpai.
"W…Why?" Rachael asked.
"… Now I am the owner of this thing…" Jasper showed them a scabbard contained the Emerald Katana. "This katana have killed countless Pokemon of Leafburg, including Zenpai's father, Zenpai's elder brothers, my father and our mother. If it continued to exist within the forest of Leafburg, a tragedy would surely follow again. That's why I must leave."
"B…But…" Rachael said. "I…It wasn't a blade! It was… Joshua who killed everyone!"
"…That may be true…" Jasper continued speaking. "But what will everyone think if they see me walking around the Principality of Leafburg with this katana in my possession?"
"…" Rachael became silent. She then thought of the thing Mega Latias told her last night…
'Anyway… You said that your elder brother is now missing, and you miss him so much, right? Then… Why don't you try to find him?'
With this, she finally knew what answer she would give to this question.
"Then, I will go with you." Rachael answered, much to the surprise of Jasper and Zenpai.
"W…What?" Jasper spoke out. "Y…You can't! It's very dangerous to go to other nations!"
"But… I don't have anything left in my life…" Rachael said. "Mother is already dead… So… At least, let me go with you, Jasper. Please…"
Once again that Rachael looked at Jasper with a determined and innocent face, which made it became hard for Jasper to refuse her.
"…Fine. If that's your decision, I won't object it…" Jasper said. "However, as I am your elder brother, you have to let me protect you, okay?"
"Okay." Rachael responded. Then Jasper turned his attention to Zenpai.
"What about you, Zenpai?" Jasper asked. "What will you do from now on? Will you go back to your village?"
"…As the only son left of the Hokage, it was likely for me to resume my father's duty of being a Hokage…" Zenpai spoke. "…However, seven days ago, when we left this place for the Leafburg City, mother asked me to protect Rachael, and I promised to protect her no matter what… That was… her last words to me… So, I will keep my promise…"
"Then…" Rachael said.
Zenpai looked at Rachael. "Rachael, if you go with Jasper, I will go with you too. Plus, as a big brother, I wouldn't let my younger siblings to go without me, right?"
"Thanks! Zenpai!" Rachael said.
"Well… That's very like you, Zenpai." Jasper said. "But… drop the part of big brother, will you? You were friends until yesterday and now you are my big brother? That's not right…"
"Hey…" Zenpai looked at Jasper. "Do not forget that I am 22 while you are 19, Jasper."
"Fine…" Jasper yielded. "Do what you want, BIG BROTHER."
Seeing Jasper and Zenpai act like this made Rachael a bit happy… But… She would be much happier if her true elder brother was here too.
"Now Rachael…" Zenpai turned her attention to her. "We will leave today after lunch. So… Go and prepare your stuff for another journey… And… Don't forget that we will not come back here for quite some time…"
Rachael nodded and then she and Cathy went back upstairs to her room again.
Rachael started packing her stuff again. This time, she took everything that was her own thing with her as she knew that she wouldn't come back here for some time…
'I will miss this place…' Rachael thought. 'But I must be prepared… Well… At least I have some PokeCoin from delivering berries and seeds to the Leafburg City…'
She then went to a berry garden to pick five berries of each kind and stored them in her berry pouch. Then she went to a seed garden to pick five seeds of each kind and stored them in her seed pouch.
'If I left this place, the berries and seeds will wither and die…' Rachael thought sadly. 'At least, if I get some with me, I could still plant and take care of them elsewhere!'
After she finished harvesting some berries and seeds, Rachael went into the barn to get ten berry pots.
'With this portable pot, I would be able to plant berries and seeds any time I want!' Rachael thought.
When she finished everything, she went back to the house, where Jasper and Zenpai were waiting. The trio then had lunch together. After lunch, the trio then left the house…
"…I wonder…" Zenpai spoke as they reached the gate of the Paradise Farm. "When will we have a chance to see this beautiful farm again…"
"Well…" Jasper said. "It may be sooner than we thought… Or… We may never see this farm again… So… We will never know the answer…"
"…" Rachael said nothing and looked at the house again. She still hugged Cathy, who was now sleeping peacefully in her arms.
"…Let's go." Zenpai said.
"Right." Jasper spoke.
Rachael said nothing but nodded and smiled innocently at both of them. Then the trio left the gate of Paradise Farm. Their destination was…
This is… The start of their story…
A story… That even them could never imagined…
-End of Tail 1: Contamination-
To Be Continued…
Dragon of Vale: And this is the end of Tail 1: Contamination. I think you may already know the answer why this tail is called 'Contamination'…
Rachael, Jasper and Zenpai decided to leave the Principality of Leafburg. Where will they go? No one knows…
As you can see, Rachael has formed a pact with a Mega Latias. That's the main plot of this story. Each protagonist will form a pact with a Legendary Pokemon. The pact they formed will give them a power rivals to the Hero/ine of Legend… At a price, of course…
And… At the end of every tail, I will write a chapter of interlude, which will be a story of another protagonist of this story. After I wrote the interlude, I will start the second tail, which will be MUCH darker than the first tail, I must say…
A special thanks to Ridin Valon for helping me with the error correction.